Thorns Post Game: The Interview - June 15, 2014

Head Coach Paul Riley

"Well I think I can have a glass of milk tonight. To be honest with you, the team morale has been unbelievable, considering what we’ve been through the last couple games. We talked all week about the fans and stuff like that. Just give the fans something to cheer about. Even the other night, down 5-0, we were just dying to get a goal so the fans could have something to cheer about on the way home. One of the funniest things of the week for me, as I was coming out of the stadium on Thursday night a couple of the fans were walking around and they said ‘Don’t worry, Paul. We’ve got your fine. We’re going to pay your fine for you.’ I thought that just about summed up what kind of fan base we’ve got. They’re so supportive. I think the players all week have been talking about them. Like we owe them something. I think the work rate today showed it. There was a lot of spunk in the locker room before the game. Not throwing chairs at each other, but getting each other going. At halftime, I felt there was a good feel in the locker room. A sense that we were just combative and that we were going to get it done. We talked about warriors and wizards. That was our theme all week. There were a lot of warriors out there tonight. We finally got the wizard to do some wizardry. The last twenty minutes, Veró caused a lot of problems. She got a goal, which was a great finish in the end. Some of those chances, on other days you’re probably going to pay the price if you don’t put them away. Hats off to the team, they were brilliant tonight."

Midfielder Amber Brooks

"As a whole we came out with something to prove, both individually and as a whole team. We wanted to get off to the races early and apply pressure. It was nice to get that early goal. I think we continued to play well. We were connecting our passes and really communicating, working hard for one another...Just keep working on finishing in practice. I can't say I've been a player that's been in front of goal a lot this week. We were working on a lot of defense. I think now that we're starting to get that, all of us can be spending more time in front of goal and working on those finishing touches."

Goalkeeper Michelle Betos

"Awesome. I'm so excited. When I was playing, I was only thinking let's just get this game over with. Let's win this game. Let's move forward. I thought we played really well. I thought we deserved the shutout. I thought across the board our defending was really good. The best it's been. I thought our midfield actually really prevented a lot of service. I think our defenders played really well. I think it was just a team-wide thing...This team's resilient. This team is talented. I can't say enough about this team. We will always fight. We will always bounce back and Paul always expresses how important the locker room is. I've never been in a locker room like ours. We all believe in each other, we all push each other and we were getting messages from everybody who wasn't here, expressing the same thing. So the support is all over the board and I just think this is a special team and I think we'll do something special."

Midfielder Vero Boquete

"Great. Playing here in this stadium and being able to score is special. I think that the whole team was motivated for this game because we're missing some players and after the last loss, we knew we had to give something to our fans. They won't miss a game. They did great. They came here with the rain and cheered for us the whole game. I'm really happy to score my first goal and I hope it's one of a lot...We talked this week that this is a new season. We have to change things and we have to improve. This was a test. Today, I think that the spirit and the attitude of the team was great from the first minute. We are so proud. We hope that everyone will be proud of the team today."